Although its title evokes Pedro Almodovar’s 1999 Oscar-winner “All About My Mother,” Robert De Niro’s comedy vehicle “About My Father” is more like a variation on a theme of the 2000 De Niro-starring hit “Meet the Parents.” Featuring De Niro as Chicago hairdresser Salvo Maniscalco, a part played by Tony Danza in the 2016 Maniscalco effort “Sebastian Says,” “About My Father” starts out as a story heavily narrated by son-of-immigrants Sebastian Maniscalco (himself). Sebastian’s mother and father came from Italy to America, we learn, where they raised their son. The mother has recently died and Sebastian and his father are all that is left of the family. Afraid that her country club-approved, hotel chain-owning family disapproves of his modest Italian immigrant background, Sebastian both fears the prospect and longs to meet his girlfriend Ellie Collins’ parents.
Ellie (Leslie Bibb) is a beautiful, fair-haired artist whose rather monotonous paintings get sold out to a mysterious benefactor at every show. Sebastian is a successful hotel manager for a rival chain. Sebastian is finally invited to the lavish Fourth of July family outing by the Collins. But because he cannot leave his father alone on the holiday, he and Ellie decide to take Salvo with them also to meet the parents, so to speak.
The meeting gets off to a bad start when Ellie’s insanely entitled older brother Lucky (a very funny Anders Holm) shows up to pilot a helicopter to spirit them to a Maryland country club. Ellie’s parents — hotel dynasty scion Bill Collins (the always welcome David Rasche) and “scary” Senator “Tigger” Collins (Kim Cattrall) — are friendly and gracious at the start. Salvo, who has brought his grandmother’s engagement ring for Sebastian to place on Ellie’s finger when (and if) he finally proposes, thinks that he is there to approve of Ellie and her parents, instead of the other way around.
